Or is that taboo here? I'm just so annoyed by it and want to get your thoughts.

So, this is what a 'friend' of mine posted on FB today. This is after another mutual friend (a vegan) asked her vegan friends what they feed their animals. The guy that posted what's below responded to her post in a somewhat snarky manner, and somehow I knew that he wasn't done with the topic. So, on his own wall, he posted:

Quote:

I was going to post this to a vegan-oriented thread that I've been following with some interest, but decided to offer it to all of my friends just to poll a much more varied audience.I'm gonna ask the most obvious [and annoying] question I can: What makes anyone think that a plant is any happier— or somehow *deserves*—to die just to supply your nourishment than an animal is? ALL living things, with the notable exception of suicides of all species, struggle for personal survival for as long as they can. So why not justify your continuing existence by offering respectful, compassionate reverence for all living things, and admit your complicity and personal responsibility in maintaining the cycle of life that sustains us all, including our sources of sustenance. If that's beyond you, why not just admit that life in this universe is too scary, messy, painful, ugly, and weird to bear (unless you can rationalize that it's ok to live as long as you can do so by killing and eating the utterly defenseless, ie, plants), and then see if you're truly willing to hurry along to where that sentiment will ultimately take you—you're going there anyway, so why waste time eating along the way?PS—I'm aware that this question is deliberately [and, admittedly, obnoxiously] confrontational to vegans whose dietary choice is predicated on moral or ethical grounds, but I would love to hear opinions from vegans whose choice is based on health concerns as well.Full disclosure: I classify [and rationalize] myself as a Gratefully and Skeptically Agnostic Omnivore.

Asinine, right? I mean, what the fork? Is he actually suggesting that I kill myself? What!

_________________Sentients Radio - Find Sentients in iTunes, too!I like cats and elephants.

Full disclosure: I classify [and rationalize] myself as a Normal and Analytic Atheist Vegan.

_________________"...anarchists only want to burn cars and punch cops."- nickvicious"We'll be eating our own words 30 years from now when we're demanding our legislators outlaw aerosol-based cyber dildo-wielding death holograms."- Brian

Yeah, that doesn't warrant a response. This guy isn't looking for a conversation- he's looking to be validated as the supremely enlightened individual he perceives himself as. Completely ignoring him is the way to annoy him most (which is what I would be looking to do).

Given that the OP shared just a paragraph of text, these are pretty sweeping assumptions about the writer and the groups you've referred to.

sorry - just trying to provide an alternate response.

i used to volunteer at a crisis phone bank - i was the "old gay guy" (i was 32 at the time!), so they would give me the calls from LGBT kids... some of them would start out very confrontational like this guy because they didn't know of any other way to deal with their feelings - and almost always drunk or high to muster the courage to call.

simple concise answer. "animals need to eat plants, and for each lb of flesh they build, they need to eat at least 8 lbs of plants, so for each lb of meat you eat, i can eat 8 lbs of plants, and i am STILL not killing an animal."

When people throw the "plants have feelings too" argument at me, I've been known to throw a simple "would you rather kick a pumpkin or a puppy?" at them. It really cuts to the core of what an intellectuallly dishhonest tack this is.

_________________Ain't no guarantees in life, and nothing that comes out of my vagina can change that. - Erika Soyf*cker

When people throw the "plants have feelings too" argument at me, I've been known to throw a simple "would you rather kick a pumpkin or a puppy?" at them. It really cuts to the core of what an intellectuallly dishhonest tack this is.

Whoa! I like this! I might use this! :D

_________________Man, fork the gender card, imma come at you with the whole damned gender deck. - Olives Did you ever think that, like, YOU are a sexy costume FOR a diva cup? - solipsistnationblog!FB!

When people throw the "plants have feelings too" argument at me, I've been known to throw a simple "would you rather kick a pumpkin or a puppy?" at them. It really cuts to the core of what an intellectuallly dishhonest tack this is.

OMG pumpkin torturer!

The whole tone is so smug. You can tell this person is thinking 'Aha! Gotcha!'

_________________If a milkshake is going to change the world then it should be at least be an Oreo one. - daisychain

If I was in this situation, I'd defriend the asshat and move on. And by "move on" I mean I'd rage about it with my veg friends, as I am a non-confrontational, yet angry person. Not helpful, I realize. Just honestly what I'd do.

Unfortunately, lots of people did, although not seriously. Here is what I responded with:

Quote:

*****, I had to sit on this for awhile and figure out how I was going to respond. You know I'm vegan, so you know where I'm coming from.

As someone who grapples with suicidal ideation on the reg, I take issue with your "false dilemma." Trust me, I know the only way to cause zero suffering, and I mean zero, would be to wipe myself out. I don't mind being open about this. It's the truth.

Furthermore, happiness is an emotion. Plants do not experience emotion, they do not even have the capacity for awareness. Plants simply respond to stimuli and there is a difference between response to stimuli and awareness of response to stimuli. Interpreting their response to stimuli as emotions is pure and simple projection. There is a substantial difference between turning to plants for nutrients rather than obtaining it from animals.

At the end of the day, I'm still vegan because I don't want to contribute to the death of another sentient being. I don't care how you raise 'em; slaughter is slaughter, and that animal does not want to die. I do it for moral reasons, environmental reasons, and finally, my health. Fair?

_________________Sentients Radio - Find Sentients in iTunes, too!I like cats and elephants.

When people throw the "plants have feelings too" argument at me, I've been known to throw a simple "would you rather kick a pumpkin or a puppy?" at them. It really cuts to the core of what an intellectuallly dishhonest tack this is.

Nice! I like this!

_________________Sentients Radio - Find Sentients in iTunes, too!I like cats and elephants.